What happened to the four players Mikel Arteta transfer listed to fund Arsenal rebuild

Arsenal remain on course for an unprecedented quadruple after allowing four first-team players to depart the club

After three years of being the nearly-men, Arsenal looks set to break that status and finally realise their championship dreams.

Having led the Premier League table since early October, the Gunners are also well-placed in the Champions League and remain in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, the latter of which they'll face Manchester City in the final this month.

The road to success has been a long and arduous one for Mikel Arteta who has transformed his squad thanks to considerable investment over the summer with the club parting ways with numerous first-team stars.

The Spaniard isn't afraid to make the big decisions, just look at his ruthless discarding of Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang early in his tenure at the Emirates Stadium. Albeit, his decision to green light the exits of Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jorginho, Thomas Partey and Kieran Tierney was much less controversial but equally important to take Arsenal to the next level.

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Prior to their exit, the quartet were valued at £55million according to Transfermarkt, but given the latter three left as free agents and the Gunners only fetched £1.3m for the Ukraine international, there was barely any money made for their departures.

In the case of Zinchenko, he was initially loaned to Nottingham Forest last summer but played just five league games for the Premier League after missing almost two months of action due to injury.

His loan was officially cancelled in January, allowing him to sign for Ajax on a permanent deal. He made just two appearances for the Dutch giants before suffering a serious knee injury that ruled him out for the rest of the season.

After two seasons in north London, Jorginho joined Brazilian side Flamengo as a free agent and has been virtually ever-present for his new side. He's already added four pieces of silverware to his cabinet since signing after winning the FIFA Challenger Cup, FIFA Derby of the Americas, Copa Libertadores and Campeonato Brasileiro Série A title.

Thomas Partey also left after negotiations for a new deal were not agreed, giving the Ghana international the opportunity to return to Spain with Villarreal. Plagued with injuries during his time in the Premier League, a lack of fitness has reared its ugly head for the midfielder this season as he's missed nine games across all competitions.

Partey, 32, last started a league game for the La Liga side in November and has played just 94 minutes of league action since then. The longest serving member of the quartet, Kieran Tierney's permanently ended his six-year career in London by returning home to boyhood club Celtic.

The left-back has featured in 28 of their 29 league games while contributing five goals and seven assists in his first season back at Parkhead. The four players were no doubt good servants for the Gunners but given the players currently in their place are Ricciardo Calafiori, Martin Zubimendi, Mikel Merino and Myles Lewis-Skelly, Arteta's decision can't be faulted.